Celebrating Failure
Celebrating Failure
by Josh Korthuis
1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed
Two weeks ago I ended having 2 exams within two days and I know that week was going to be tough. I tried to study but sometimes I would get so overwhelmed that I would find myself procrastinating because I just wanted to stop thinking about the situation I was in. I would try to study but then I would tell myself I deserved to lay in my bed and take a break for 5 min. When I did that, that 5 min would turn into an hour of me sitting there playing on my phone and not doing my work. Because of this procrastination I found myself cramming the day of both exams and my grades reflected it. Even though I mostly know the material, I made doubt mistakes that wouldn't have happened if I had spread out my study time more. This cost my getting good grades on the tests and I ended up getting a 75% on both of them which was very disappointing for me. I considered this a failure in my mind because I have always been an A student and I hate getting bad grades on tests.
2) Tell us what you learned from it.
After this I learned that if I would have used my time appropriately I could have done great on both exams and that I need to stay focused during my study time and not take breaks. To study from now on I put my phone out of reach and tell myself I can only take a break once I have finished. It has been easier to do this after the failure on those tests though because it has given me motivation to do good on my next tests so that I don't get anymore C's.
3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure.
In general I believe failure is good in most situations because you can learn from your mistakes and grow as a person. It does hurt to fail but when you bounce back and succeed the next time it feels amazing. I usually handle failure by reflecting on the situation and what I could have done better, then finding solutions to the problem so that I don't fail that way again. This class has changed my perspective on failure because it teaches how failure is common in the business world and that most people fail many times before they succeed. This gives me confidence to take risks in the business world so I can learn from them and make better decisions the next time.
Hi Josh,
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I think we all struggle with this problem as students. I'm actually struggling with it now, as a I have a big paper due at midnight. I find that procrastination runs in a circle. The more stressed I am the less I want to do my homework or study, the less studying I do the more stressed I am, and then back around to stress causing me to avoid it. However, I think you learned some important lessons from this occurrence.
Hi Josh,
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone, man. Me and you both probably procrastinate a little too much and it can definitely reflect in your grades. Personally, I have been trying to be a better student and have tried to get things done in timely manners but sometimes life gets to you and you just can't set your mind to what you need to be doing. Procrastination causes much more stress so if you can find a way to motivate yourself a little more then do it. Sometimes you just gotta throw your phone across your room and get work done.
Hey there Josh,
ReplyDeleteThat situation happens to the best of us, especially during times of the semester such as midterms and finals. It can be so hard to focus soley on school and to study for tests, even when that's what we know we have to do. Although this frequently happens, it can still be used as a good learning lesson to develop new study habits and improve on the grades.